


Alchemistc Dream

by MonMinou



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: F/M, OC, Original Character(s), first fanfic online here, haha not a author insert, its not the first i've ever written tho haha, please tell me what you think of it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-30
Updated: 2017-08-30
Packaged: 2018-12-21 20:50:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11952393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MonMinou/pseuds/MonMinou
Summary: Elena Phan has never watched Brotherhood. She only saw some episodes of the first FMA series. However, she suddenly finds herself trapped in the world of Brotherhood. Despite that, she thinks it's all a fever dream from her cold. But little by little, she's proven that it's not at all a dream, but a harsh reality...





	1. Unanticipated

 

**A/N: Hi, guys! So this is my first FMAB fanfic I’ve ever written. I’ve been a fan of it for years, and I’m excited to post this chapter! c:**

 

**Tbh, I was weary of writing this out, despite my excitement. I was unsure of how I would write it. But I was inspired by some other FMAB fanfics out there. I was inspired to write something like this.**

 

**FYI: The OC in this story is, in fact, an OC and not a self-insert. Yep, she’s a character I’ve made fresh for specifically this story. She’s actually pretty new, and I am still figuring out how exactly to develop her ;w; As a result, the intro I’ve written is actually quite lengthy… I do apologize, but I hope y’all like it nonetheless. I wanted to develop her a bit as to get an idea for not only myself, but for you as my reader to understand as well. I hope she stands out as a good OC, and not a Mary-Sue haha**

 

**Also, shoutout to** **_a Mysterious Illusion_ ** **! Not only did her fanfic (Fullmetal Adventure) inspired me to write this, but she had offered me so much help in developing my character and this chapter! I couldn’t have done it without her! PS: Read her Fullmetal Adventure fanfic right after this one! It’s one of the best!**

 

**And without further ado… Yeah, just read on haha.**

  
  


_ Please, please, please answer…  _ a thought went through her head as sixteen-year-old Elena pressed her friend’s contact name on her phone. She watched as her phone dialed her friend, Mack’s, phone number. A couple seconds later, she heard the buzzing sound of the phone from her earbuds. 

 

Elena had planned on going over to Mack’s house a couple days ago. The weather, although as cold as a typical winter day would be, was nice and sunny enough to make her in a mood to get out of her house. They both had quite a handful of activities planned out. But sadly, Elena was dreadfully ill. Her throat was constantly feeling as dry as a desert, her coughs were rough and harsh, a fever plagued her forehead, and her nose was both stuffy and runny. All in all, she felt way too fatigued to do anything today. She thought that the cold wouldn't turn out to be that bad; she was wrong.

 

Now, she was bundled up under her favorite blanket. A box of tissues and a glass of water was on top of a dresser next to her bed. Her mom had made her drink some medicine a few minutes ago. It was the kind that would make her pass out asleep in a couple minutes. Elena usually didn't like sleeping during the daytime, but her sore throat and stuffy nose had kept her up nearly the entire night. 

 

A hoarse cough escaped Elena’s mouth. Suddenly feeling her throat sting, she slowly reached out to her right and grasped the glass of water that was standing on the dresser next to her bed. She chugged a sip of water down, instantly feeling her dry throat gaining some sort of moisture. But knowing the kind of condition she's in, it would probably last for only a couple minutes. Talking would make the moisture dry up even quicker, she realized as she held her phone with her left hand. 

 

Some drops of water dripped out from the glass, lightly splattering over the corner of her bed’s lavender-colored bed sheet. A whispered cuss escaped her lips as she slowly placed the glass of water back to its spot, realizing that the stain would take a bit long to completely dry up. 

 

“Hello? Elee?” Elena heard Mack speak from her earbuds, his voice sounding slightly deep pitched as usual. He called her by a nickname that she wasn't really a big fan of, but at the same didn't mind. It just made her feel a bit embarrassed at times, particularly because that nickname made her feel like she was five again. As a result, she only let a few close people call her that, Mack being one of them. 

 

“Mack?” Elena replied weakly. Well… More like rasped. 

 

“Ooooh…” Mack winced upon hearing her voice. Elena could practically imagine the boy making a pained expression as he winced; one eye painfully clenched shut, and the other slightly open, followed by a minuscule frown. His expressions were very expressive, to say the least. 

 

Mack continued, “So I take that the cold you were suspecting came out a lot worse.”

 

Elena sniffled, sighed, and admitted with a nod, “Yeah, I guess you could say that…” 

 

“See? That's why you should've worn a thicker coat that day. Not just that bomber jacket on top of your thin sweater!” Mack chided on the phone like how a parent would. 

 

“Mack, oh my gosh,” Elena said with a exasperated expression. She thought back to the time when she was wearing her favorite grey bomber jacket instead of one of her thicker coats. That bomber jacket - along with some hoodies, scarves, white sneakers,and pullover sweaters - were basically her signature outfits. Her favorite ones to wear, especially in the season of autumn. This year’s autumn was chillier than expected. “You sound like my mother!”

 

Mack chuckled. “Did she actually tell you that?”

 

“Well…” Elena responded, twisting the white wires of her earbuds with a finger, “Not yet, at least.” She sighed yet again. “Anyways, I didn't know it'll be that cold on that day! It said that the weather would be nice enough!” 

 

“Oh, Elee… You do know that weather channel thing on your phone isn't as great as mine’s,” Mack bragged.

 

Elena rolled her eyes, “I was running out of time at that moment. My classes had me studying until one in the morning, and I overslept.” 

 

She leaned back on a pillow cladded in the sheet with same matching color as her bed sheet. It was her first year taking an AP class. She was expecting it to be harder than the two honors classes she took last year; After all, they are college-level classes. But she wasn’t expecting it to be  _ that _ harsh. Before she knew it, she got bombarded by a bunch of reading and essays to do within just a couple weeks. She was already running on about five hours of sleep, an amount she’d expect to get at around January.

 

As she sink back, she continued, “Speaking of classes, I actually kind of hope that I'll feel a little bit better by Monday. I have so much to do in those classes.” 

 

Mack just snorted.

 

Mack was a grade above Elena’s; A senior. He’s a willing STEM student who’s focused on majoring somewhere in the fields of life science. Elena has especially witnessed firsthand his dedication to chemistry and biology. 

 

Elena was about to reply, “Thanks,” when suddenly, she started coughing harshly. One cough after the other. She coughed for a straight ten seconds. 

 

“You don't sound good,” Elena heard Mack comment. She couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or serious. 

 

“You don't say, Ma-” Elena started off, but another chain of rigid coughs interrupted her yet again. Each cough sounded harsher and louder as she went on for another fifteen seconds. 

 

By the time she was done, she was breathing in deep breaths, her chest heaving in and out heavily. It was even more difficult for her to breath due to her nose being extremely stuffy, so she relied on breathing through her open mouth. Her stomach lightly ached from all of the coughing. Overall, she felt fatigued.

 

She heard Mack chuckling a bit as he responded, “Poor you.”

 

She took a swig of her water, careful to avoid water spills whilst doing it, and said, “Lucky you. You aren't sick. Your nose isn't stuffy, and your throat isn't scratchy.”

 

“Meh, I’d rather be sick just to avoid school for a couple days,” Mack said.

 

“Same, but once again, I’d rather not for now…” Elena placed a hand on her forehead. She felt the warmth from the fever. “It’s only the fifth week of school and I'm already sick and stressing out about work.” 

 

“Junior year, am I right,” Mack agreed, “Anyways, I guess all those plans we made up is gone to waste this weekend.” Elena could practically imagine him frowning as he said those words. 

 

She found herself weakly frowning as she said, “I know, right? I was really looking forward to it as well. It was going to be a fun day.”

 

“Didn't you even write down all of your plans down in the Notes? On your phone?” Mack asked. 

 

“Hmm? Did I…?” Elena thought back for a couple seconds. Mack knew that she could be forgetful at times. He truly was a good friend.

 

She then remembered her and Mack sitting together in their history class a few days back. Their teacher was absent due to having a large blood test. During that time with a substitute teacher, they sat together side by side, enthusiastically coming up with different plans to do. It wasn't a lot, but to them, it was a pretty good start. To them, it was a handful. They both knew that they like to be organized with their plans.

 

“Oh yeah, we did!” she exclaimed, her voice growing high pitched. She ended up coughing harshly for a few seconds. Then, she tapped the home button on her phone and pressed on the Notes app.

 

“I can't believe you forgot about that for a couple seconds!” Mack exclaimed with a soft giggle.

 

“You know how forgetful I am,” Elena replied as she was looking through the folders on her notes. She was squinting a bit while doing so, not feeling in a mood to slap on her glasses, despite them just sitting on top of the dresser. Sadly, her eyesight wasn't the best.

 

She clicked on the one that said “Ideas” and then the note that was labeled as “Plans.” 

 

“Found it!” she chirped with her slightly raspy voice as she skimmed through the small list. “Let’s see… We wrote down plans to go to the mall.” She thought back to the one time they went shopping. During a hazy summer day, they decided to shop for merchandise and games. They ended up spending nearly five hours at the mall, and nearly broke.They both thought it was fun but time consuming at the time, especially since they spend about an hour to eat. 

 

“Remember that last time we went shopping, though?” Elena asked. “During the summer? That took up  _ way too much  _ time! We could've spent about three hours there. We’re  _ both  _ slow shoppers.”

 

“Ahahaha…” Mack nervously giggled, “I guess that's true. My mom was kind of upset at that. We’ll save that for another day.”

 

“Let’s see…” Elena looked at the list. “We wrote down that we’d bake something together.” 

 

Mack was the only guy Elena knew that loved cooking. She assumed that he got it from his mother, who works as an assistant chef in a restaurant. Mack’s mom makes the best desserts and pasta that Elena has ever taste. Her favorite was his mom’s homemade macaroni and cheese. Their cooking skills were one of the many reasons why Elena enjoyed visiting Mack’s place. 

 

“That wouldn't be bad, actually,” Mack said slowly in a thoughtful tone, “I mean, we’ve baked cupcakes before. We could always try something new if my mom could help us out.”

 

“Yeah. Something I'm down for. I  _ really  _ need to restock on some sweets,” Elena nodded. She went through what was next on the list. “We also said that we would watch an anime.” She took in a deep breath through her mouth as she continued, “Let me guess. Fullmetal Alchemist.” 

 

“Wow! You know me  _ so well! _ ” Mack exaggerated a sarcastic surprised gasp, “Oh man,  _ how _ did you  _ know _ ?” 

 

“Oh, I don't know…” Elena went along, “Maybe it’s from the  _ fact  _ that you drew me  _ two  _ transmutation circles the other day!” She glanced at the dresser that was to her right. The paper that had the two circles was lying near the edges of the dresser. She won't be surprised if the drawing fell to the ground.

 

“You still have that?” Mack asked, this time actually sounding surprised.

 

“Yeah,” Elena answered as she nodded, “I like it.” 

 

She noticed a twinge of drowsiness growing deep inside of her. Her eyelids were getting heavy. Any minute, and she'd suddenly just fall asleep. 

 

_ Not now…  _ she begged herself. She didn't want to nap now. She didn't even like napping. She wanted to talk to Mack more. 

 

“Thanks! I tried! Anyways, are you still watching the 2003 series?” Mack asked.

 

“The first version, right?” Elena blinked a couple times. “Yeah, I left off somewhere there. And actually…” Elena dropped her voice in a whisper as she admitted, “I haven't watched it for about a month.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah…” Elena giggled nervously, “I may need to start all over, if anything. But I believe I remember what was going on.”

 

Elena thought back deeply, her brows furrowing a bit, “I believe… It was at that part where Ed just learned that the mysterious boy with long hair has his arm. That boy that they found on that island.”

 

“Oh yeah! That part was dramatic!” Mack gasped, “It gets pretty good after that! I hope you can watch more! I can't wait until you start watching Brotherhood, though!”

 

“Brotherhood…” Elena mused out loud, pronouncing the word slowly. “I've heard from a lot of people that Brotherhood is better… Is that true?”

 

“Well… I would say it’s open for interpretation,” Mack answered, “A lot of people prefer Brotherhood over the first series, and I could see why. Brotherhood is better animated, and the plot is better. Meanwhile, the first series has a better range of emotions from funniness to sadness. And the movie after it is good, too.”

 

“Ah, is that so? I'll keep that in mind then. Meanwhile… Which one do you prefer?” Elena asked. 

 

“Hmm... I like them both, but I've watched Brotherhood more than the original. Not gonna lie, it’s kinda hard getting back to watching the original after seeing Brotherhood,” Mack answered honestly.

 

“Ok then…” A yawn escaped Elena’s lips as she stretched out. “That medicine my mom made me take is getting to me.” 

 

“Is it that one medicine that makes you drowsy?”

 

“Yes, it is.” She wanted to remark something sarcastic, but she was getting too sleepy to even do that. Her tiredness intensified. The warmth of the blanket, along with the heat being on, made her even more tired. Not to mention, her room was kind of dark, as the shades were half closed. 

 

She was comfortable. Perhaps  _ too  _ comfortable.

 

_ I need to sleep…  _ Elena thought in defeat. She sighed, closing her eyes for a bit. She struggled as she opened her eyes, her eyelids becoming heavier from closing them.  _ This medicine is  _ killing _ me. _

 

“Well, I hate to admit it,” Elena draped the blanket over her as she continued, “But I'm gonna go take a nap.” She curled up a bit, feeling the welcoming warmth under her blanket.

 

Mack giggled. “Good. It's about time you give in to naps.”

 

“Oh, hush!” Elena playfully snapped back. 

 

“‘Oh, hush!’” Mack imitated Elena’s voice in a exasperated high-pitched voice. “Y’know, you've been saying that a lot…”

 

“Hahaha, I guess so.” Elena yawned again. She wanted to retort something something, but she wasn't feeling it. “Bye, Mack.”

 

“Goodbye, Ele-” Elena had pressed the red hang-up button, only to realize that she did so too early.

 

“Oh shit…” Elena muttered, mentally facepalming herself. It was probably her sixth time doing that to him. Hanging up early was one habit of hers. No one had ever pointed that out, but she was sure that they knew. She was getting that feeling of awkwardness she usually got after doing that, and suddenly felt a bit bad for hanging up on Mack. She was sure that he won’t mind, and would even understand that she was super sleepy by now, due to the medicine. Mack is a pretty nice guy.

 

_ Sorry, Mack. _ Elena thought as she set the phone down on her bed. She would have placed it on the dresser, but she didn’t want to place it next to the glass of water. 

 

She then heard a thin sound of crumpling paper. She looked to her left and saw that Mack’s drawings were on the ground.

 

_ I knew that would happen… _ she thought to herself as she walked towards the paper. She bent down and grasped it with one hand. Then, she held it close - quite close to her face since she isn’t wearing her glasses - to look at what exactly Mack has drawn for her.

 

_ Mack sure is good at drawing… _ Elena thought as she scrutinized the drawing.  _ Is there something he  _ can't  _ do? _

 

The transmutation circle Mack had drawn for her was quite elaborate; The circle contained many shapes, lines, and symbols. And it had taken him about half an hour to draw it on a piece of paper. 

 

On the bottom of the circle, Mack had labeled it as “Human Transmutation Circle” with a hand-drawn sad-face emoji. 

 

_ Oh yeah…  _ Elena grimaced, remembering that scene in Fullmetal Alchemist when Ed and Al performed human transmutation to get their mom back. That scene was truly heartbreaking and devastating for her. Seeing how much blood Ed had lost was especially what made her heart break. They were just boys. They didn't deserve-

 

_ What? _ Elena suddenly jumped back, now grasping the paper at arm’s length. Her brown eyes widened in surprised.

 

The circle was suddenly  _ red _ , instead of its pencil-black color. Not only was it red, but it also seemed to be glowing, practically  _ radiating _ . It went on like this for a few seconds.

 

Then, it turned back into a regular black pencil color, as if nothing happened at all.

 

Elena still held the paper away from her face, a highly perplexed expression formed on her face. 

 

_ What the hell was that?  _ she thought, feeling heat in her forehead. Her hand trembled a bit, causing her to crumple the paper under her grip. The crumple broke the source of comforting silence that had taken place in her room for the past couple minutes. 

 

She stared at the drawing, squinting for a good observation. The drawing didn't change color for the next handful of seconds. 

 

Elena then sighed, blowing the drawing in her hand. 

 

“I'm probably tired…” she whispered to herself. “I should go sleep now.” 

 

She placed the drawing on the same dresser it was originally on top of. She made sure that this time, it would not fall down. 

 

She then glanced at herself at the mirror that was across from her and her bed. 

 

Her hair was quite messy, as expected. There were times when her hair would look like a bloody war had taken place atop of her head; The warm-brown dyed locks would be sprawled out in all sorts of crazy directions, sometimes messing up her parting. Right now, it was just somewhat messy. Strands of hair was disheveled in many places. Her hair fell down to her normal length: an inch past her chest. She made some curls in it a few days ago. Some had managed to survive up to day, while others were perishing, returning back to her normal straight hair. 

 

Elena sighed and plopped on her bed. She pulled her “A lot of cats” blanket on top of her and curled up in it, gaining immediate comfort from its warmth. She closed her eyes, soon enough entering the world of dreams. 

 

~

 

_ I'm awake…  _ Elena thought to herself. However, she still kept her eyes closed, as they felt slightly heavy. She laid down on her left side, nearly curling up; a position she almost always slept in. She knew that it wasn't good for her back, yet she still slept as so. She could never fall asleep on her back, for some strange reason. But when she did on a slim chance, she would have some sort of strange dream. 

 

She slowly opened her dark brown eyes. A sheer bright white color greeted her, nearly blinding her. 

 

_ Shit! _ Elena clenched her eyes shut, placing a small hand on top of her closed eyes. Her eyes suddenly stung a bit from the impact of the light. It was the last thing she was expecting to first see. She rolled herself on top of her back, keeping her eyes shut. 

 

_ What's going on? Why is it so bright all of a sudden?  _ she asked herself.  _ Did I left my lights on? I don't even remember putting them on… _

 

She then noticed the lack of warmth she was feeling. She wasn't covered under her blankets. There was nothing covering her body. 

 

_ What happened to my blanket? I'm  _ definitely  _ sure I slept under it.  _ Keeping her eyes shut, she moved her free hand and her feet around to feel for it. She didn't feel the familiar softness of her cat-patterned blanket anywhere near her. 

 

She sighed, remembering another one of her odd habits.  _ I probably pushed it off the bed again while sleeping _ …  _ I guess I’ll try to get it.  _

 

Elena slowly opened her eyes again. Within seconds, her eyes went from clenched-shut to wide saucers as she realized what she was looking up to. Instead of looking up to her ceiling with the fan hanging above her head, she was facing vast whiteness, nothing more or less. 

 

“I haven't seen this much whiteness since I was at the hospital…” she whispered to herself. Last year, she had broken her ankle from running too much. She was brushing up for her track team meet ups, which was the next day. She misstepped and fell horribly down the hill, which ended up fracturing some parts of her ankle badly. 

 

Elena looked around. Confusion was dwelling inside of her as she scanned the area. She didn't see any source of light;  _ everywhere was white.  _ She couldn't even pinpoint what kind of white was it. Was it as white as snow, or a glass of milk? Or perhaps as white as paper from her printer, or her iPhone charger? As white as the Colgate toothpaste, or as white as vanilla frosting? Either way, it was all white and empty. Nothing, or no one, was with her. 

 

“Hello?” Elena croaked, rising up a bit. Nothing but silence had responded. 

 

After a couple seconds, Elena collapsed back down. Instead of feeling the tender plush of her bed on her back, she felt something harsh and smooth, as if she was lying on polished floor. 

 

“What the-” Elena looked down. She wasn't even lying on her own bed. She was on top of the ground. Or was she? Whatever she was lying on seemed transparent to the overall white place. The only thing that gave a different color was Elena’s own shadow.

 

_ This is somewhat terrifying…  _ She thought to herself as she sat up. She hugged her knees close to her chest, receiving some of the missing warmth from her now nowhere-to-be-found blanket. 

 

_ Yet…  _ Elena looked around once again.  _ This place… _ She squinted her eyes.

 

_ It looks so familiar. Have I been here before? Or is this perhaps from a show? A video game?  _

 

The endless white area  _ did _ look familiar. Eerily familiar at the best. But that didn't help that much from the fact that the place was still eerie and unsettling. Not to mention, the place also felt a bit chilly. Despite wearing a chunky crewneck sweatshirt with black leggings, Elena was still trembling. Relying on her knees for warmth, she hugged her knees tighter and closer to her torso. She buried her chin in between her chest and knees. 

 

_ Don't be scared, Elee _ … she thought in an attempt to reassure herself.  _ This is all a dream. You're probably having one of those weird dreams when you're sick. Uhhh… Oh! I believe they were called fever dreams! _

 

Elena placed a hand on her forehead. Instead of feeling some sort of warmness from the forehead, she felt only a faint warm feeling. It was the kind of warmth she'd normally feel when she didn’t have a fever. It was as if her fever went away. Aside from that, Elena noticed that she actually didn't feel ill at all; Her threat didn't feel sore, and her nose didn't feel clogged. She wasn't aware how big of a contrast that was until now.

 

“I shouldn't be so surprised,” Elena muttered to herself as she lowered her hand down, wrapping it around her knees. She suddenly noticed how healthier her voice sounded. “It  _ is  _ a dream, after all.”

 

“ _ What is? _ ” Suddenly, she heard someone… Or rather a group of people chant. It sounded like multiple of different people has spoke to her to the point where it sounded like a yell. They all spoke at the same time. Her ears  _ ached _ badly from that. 

 

_ Where did that come from? _ She asked herself, dropping one leg flat on the transparent ground. She looked around. 

 

“Who’s there?” She demanded, not knowing if she should actually be standing up or not. Compared to the multitude of voices she supposedly heard, she sounded tiny. 

 

“ _ Heh… _ ” she heard one voice chuckle this time.

 

_ Wait… weren't there…? _

 

“ _ Behind you… _ ” Those numerous of voices returned. Just two simple words such as those were usually meant to sound far from a scream. However, with the numerous of voices returning, it sounded like a whole city screaming down at her. Her head felt like it was about to explode from the loudness. 

 

After harshly flinching, Elena slowly turned around. 

 

_ Is there a huge mob of people behind me? _ She thought as she turned around. 

 

She finally spotted the source of the voices. 

 

This someone (Was it even a person?) was a good couple feet away from Elena, sitting cross-legged. The figure of the mysterious person was just as transparent as the place they were both in. The only factor that made this figure noticeable was some sort of grey aura it (Him? Her?) that was radiating around the transparent-white body. 

 

Elena was quite frightened. She was not expecting someone - or  _ something,  _ for that matter - to look far from a normal person. Was this  _ thing _ even a human? 

 

_ Wait… This creature looks really familiar…  _ Elena squinted at the figure in front of her. She leaned forward a bit as she tried to get a better view. 

 

Not a strand of hair was on the creature’s lucid body. There were also no signs of clothing on it. However, it also didn't have any sort of private body parts exposed, either; It looked like one of those cartoon drawings where they simplified everything without much details. 

 

The feature that stood out to Elena the most was its face. It had the same color as the entire body of the creature. But it had no eyes or ears. Just a mouth. 

 

The creature noticed Elena gawking at it. Its mouth spread into a wide grin, revealing a set of gleaming,  _ horrifying _ , chalky-white teeth. 

 

_ No freaking way…  _ Elena’s eyes widened in realization and utter shock. Even without her glasses on, she instantly recognized that monstrous signature grin. If anything, that smirk looked more terrifying than ever.

 

“T-Truth?” she whispered, stuttering on  _ his _ name. 

 

The creature - now confirmed as Truth - sneered at the girl again. 

 

“Took you long enough to figure that out,” he spoke. Once again, his voice sounded like a plethora of others talking all at once down at Elena. Elena could’ve sworn that her ears were ready to pop. 

 

Upon seeing her blown away, Truth softly snickered. It sounded like only one person was snickering, to Elena’s relief.

 

“Oh, right,” Truth mused, surprisingly maintaining that soft tone in his voice, “I forgot. You’re from  _ that _ dimension. Humans are much more feeble there. Especially the younger ones, such as you.” He pointed a transparent finger at Elena, whose face was scrunched up in confusion.

 

“Dimension? As in another universe?” Elena asked, crossing her arms. “Those… Don’t really exist though.”

 

This made Truth howl in amusement. Again came the multitude of voices. 

 

Elena covered her ears with her two hands. There was no difference in the sound, as it felt like the voices were leaking through the gaps of her fingers straight to her ears. She was surprised that she wasn’t getting any kind of headache, or was even  _ sane, _ from this creature

 

“H-Hey…” she croaked, “Have you forgotten about my ears?”

 

She then thought,  _ He did say I was feeble… What does he mean by that? _

 

Truth had actually complied, as it stopped snickering a couple seconds later. However, it still kept that wide, teeth-exposing grin. Elena shuddered in the inside at the sight. She remembered how she always strived at making her teeth as white as she could. 

 

Now she dreaded having clear white teeth like the Truth’s.

 

“Even though you’re from a different dimension, you humans are all the same,” Truth went on, surprisingly keeping his voice to a minimum volume, “Cocky, arrogant, thinks they know  _ everything  _ once they get their hands on some sort of knowledge.” 

 

“I'm sorry?” Elena was now genuinely confused, “What did I say?”

 

“The way you told me how you weren’t from ‘some alternate universe,’” Truth mockingly imitated Elena’s voice, “You do  _ not  _ know about these dimensions at all. Your world may be more technologically superior, yet you humans still are clueless about the existence of multiple dimensions. Such as the world of  _ alchemy _ .”

 

_ Oh right! _ Elena’s thoughts snapped back to her revelation earlier. She glanced at Truth.

 

_ This, er, guy is from Fullmetal Alchemist! How did I not thought of that?  _

 

A small, sly grin formed on her face.  _ Wait til Mack here about this! Oh man, I can't wait to see that look on his face as I tell him about my dream with Truth! He’ll be so- _

 

“ _ So you think this is a dream? _ ” Truth abruptly asked. Despite the hushed voice he maintained, it still startled Elena.

 

However, Elena tried to keep her composure strong. She questioned, “Well, if it isn’t a dream, then how did you read my mind?” 

 

“Heheh!” Truth laughed. He straightened his back, showing pure interest. “Well… I  _ am  _ called by many names.” Then, his voice became serious and almost poetic-like as he continued, “I am the world, I am the universe. I am God… I am Truth.”

 

Elena’s face slowly formed in realization. She remembered this speech.

 

_ No way…  _ she thought.

 

“I am all… And I am one…” he finished. He then point a transparent finger at the girl. “And I am also…  _ You. _ Therefore, I know  _ exactly  _ what you are thinking. Does that answer you question, girl?”

 

“A-Actually…” Elena then sat straight up in an attempt to keep a strong composure, “This proves my theory even more. This  _ is _ a dream. I remember you from that show.”

 

“A  _ show _ ?” Truth suddenly laughed. It came out like a echoey chorus.  “Well, what if I told you that it wasn't some ‘show’ that you watched? What if I told you that it was some other reality? Another dimension that your humans have never discovered?”

 

“Oh, really?” Elena’s words squeaked like a chick, but she kept the same daring, questioning expression, “What makes you say that?”

 

“Well…” Truth placed one finger on his transparent chin, as if he was deeply contempting something, “Your humans have never discovered any other worlds. Yet they've tried, but had given up in the end. All they do is  _ hope  _ that they don't find any other creatures in that small universe. They fear that these creatures would be smarter and stronger than them. Despite having such advanced technology, your puny world still can’t do much outside of the planet.” 

 

“Well…” Elena stared at Truth. She didn’t know how to respond to that, especially since most of it was sadly true. 

 

Truth gleamed at her and continued, “This dimension, on the other hand, has quite some knowledgeable people, even though their technology is not as superior as your world’s. Actually, this world has a plethora more of intelligent people than yours! Not only that, but a good few of these people are aware of other presence scattered around the universe. They know about other dimensions…”

 

Truth then pointed at Elena, “... such as  _ yours! _ ” 

 

Elena looked at Truth with heavy confusion. “What are you talking about?”

 

Truth once again howled in laughter. This time, it sounded like echoes of others laughing along, as if someone told a funny joke. Elena clamped her hands on her ears, unable to withstand the loudness. She glared at the Truth, who sneered in return. 

 

“What the hell was that about?” Elena suddenly snapped, slowly removing her hands from her ears. 

 

“You just further proved how clueless your kind is!” Truth answered, ignoring the girl’s rudeness, “No matter how smart you may think you are, your world is underdeveloped, compared to this other dimension. Oh! Speaking of this other dimension!” 

 

Suddenly, Truth was just mere inches from Elena’s face. 

 

“Gah!” Elena yelped, falling on her back. She then supported herself up with her arms. 

 

She was about to scoot back until Truth asked, “Did you know that someone from this certain dimension had summoned you?” 

 

“Summoned… Me?” Elena then moved back and sat up. “Why? How?”

 

_ What kind of person from another dimension want me for? How do they know me? Is that actually a thing?  _ Elena thought, her eyebrows arched in deep tonight and dismay. She didn’t remember something like that ever being possible. Even Mack had never mentioned anything like that.  _ Maybe it was a spoiler? _

 

“A summoner could summon someone for various reasons! They're usually able to summon someone through any drawn transmutation circles in a particular world. The person must be looking directly at the circle,” Truth explained, sounding somewhat passionate, “I guess you were the most recent runt looking at the circle. What a shame for whoever may be summoning you.”

 

“Wait…” Elena looked directly at Truth, “You don't know who summoned me?”

 

“Obviously, someone who has a high talent in alchemy,” Truth answered matter-of-factly.

 

“So… You don't know?” Elena asked again with a soft smirk.

 

Truth was silent. Elena smirked again, satisfied. 

 

But then, he replied, “No. But I  _ do  _ know that I need to send you to that world the summoner is in. After all, you are starting to become bothersome, especially with all of these questions.”

 

Suddenly, a loud sound erupted behind Elena, causing her to jump yet again. The sound of something tremendous opening up. It all came directly behind her. 

 

Elena slowly turned around. 

 

“What the…” she mumbled.

 

A huge door, perhaps twelve times taller than her, was opening up, splitting into two. The thick doors were worn out, and had some sort of branches designed on it, along with some foreign scribbled words. It was the color of pale grey rocks. 

 

_ That's…!  _

 

Before Elena could react, she felt a chilling, powerful wind escape the opening doors. Her hair whipped back. The wind was so powerful that it stung Elena’s face. She stretched out one of her arms in an attempt to shield her face. 

 

After the frenzy of winds were over, Elena slowly lowered down her arm. She was then looking straight at a giant grey eyeball, ominously surrounded by nothing but darkness; a stark contrast from the place she and Truth were in. 

 

“Oh, shit!” Elena screamed. She moved back a bit. But all of a sudden, she felt something tug at her lower right leg. She looked down at screamed even more. 

 

A tiny black hand had gripped her leg. The hand gave it a little tug, pulling Elena slowly towards the door. 

 

Elena yanked herself backwards in an attempt to avoid the door. She looked back at Truth, who had the same ridiculous grin as ever. 

 

“Scared ya, didn't I?” he stated rather haughtily. He still managed to speak in a voice low enough to not blow away Elena. 

 

“What is this!?” Elena frantically asked.

 

“Oh, don’t play dumb with me,” Truth replied, grinning wider than ever. “You, of all of the humans in that low-life world, should know.  _ Look closely _ .”

 

Elena hesitantly turned back to the grey hue. It looked back at her unblinkingly. The eye had many shades grey, getting darker and darker the closer it was to the pupil. It was definitely unsettling and haunting.

 

Elena winced. 

 

_ Creepy…  _ she thought. 

 

She then shook her head.

 

_ No, no, Ell…. Focus… _ She took a deep breath and continued looking at it.

 

Yet, it  _ did  _ look similar to something Elena saw before. Upon recognizing it, she covered her mouth with one hand, muffling a loud gasp.

 

_ The Gate of Truth… _ she thought, staring at it with fear.

 

“Aha!” Truth laughed, keeping a decent volume. “I knew you would get it! Good girl!”

 

Elena didn’t respond; she simply didn’t know how to respond to him. That, and she was too busy staring at the gigantic eyeball. She found it difficult to break away from the powerful gaze of it. It was as if the eyeball was hypnotizing her. Not to mention, it gave off a chilling presence. Everything about the eyeball, and the whole Gate in general, was just  _ mesmerizing. _

 

At this point, everything felt like a dream, yet at the same time felt like reality. It was starting to become one of  _ those  _ dreams. 

 

“No response, huh?” Truth continued, “Well, at least I found something that made you quiet for once. For some odd reason, I always seem to get this kind of reaction from humans whenever I introduce them to the Gate of Truth. Even those that are aware of its existence would still stare at it with some sort of fear.”

 

Elena then turned back, facing the creature. One question was racing through her head over and over. 

 

_ What is he going to do with me? _

 

“Oh, don’t worry. You don’t owe me a sacrifice, as  _ you’re _ not the one who activated a transmutation circle for this. However…” Truth once again bared his teeth, “ _ You are still going in the Gate. _ ”

 

Suddenly, a plethora of those same black hands sprang out from the wide doors. They all grasped Elena at various parts of her body. A frightened yelp escaped Elena’s lips as she felt them seize her. They all felt frigid and tight. 

 

As Elena stared at the hands in shock, Truth smugly continued, “Still think this is all a dream? This will prove you and your ‘theory’ all wrong!”

 

The hands started to drag her towards the door.

 

“No, no, no, no!” Elena panicked. She attempted to pull herself away from the Gate of Truth by scooting backwards. But her bonds were holding onto her tightly. The friction of the floor and her body stung her. It was all useless. She felt the cold air from the other side of the Gate introduce her. 

 

As she was being hauled towards the Gate, she heard Truth snicker and say, “Have fun in the world of alchemy, human!”

 

Elena no longer felt the floor beneath her. Instead, she felt herself being pulled forward at a swift rate. The bleak whiteness that she was trapped in for minutes dissolved into nothing but pitch-blackness. She felt nothing around her; just the miniscule hands’ sturdy grips and the wind from the fast pressure. The pressure she felt pelted against her body harshly. It especially stung at her face. The wind stung her eyes, forcing her to shut her eyes. Not only that, but she was barely able to breath through it. Her lungs felt like they would burst any minute. Her ears ached as well, as the blaring sound of the wind battered against them. 

 

_ Please wake up, please wake up, please wake up… _ Elena thought to herself, coughing in between. 

 

The darkness was extremely unbearable. The only thing Elena was able to see was pure blackness. It felt like the darkness was consuming her. It won’t make a difference if she closed her eyes. That, along with the fast rate, was making her suffocate badly. 

 

Everything felt like a nightmare to her. 

 

Her body then started to feel numb. It started off at one of her legs, and then spreaded upwards in her body; her other leg, body, and arms all became numb slowly but steadily. She couldn’t feel her body anymore.

 

_ Is this what it feels like when going through this Gate?  _ Elena managed to think, remembering seeing the scenes of Ed and Al going through it. The only thing that was missing from her experience here was the sudden flow of past memories and knowledge. She felt like she was gaining nothing but panic and pain. It felt like she was arriving to death.

 

_ Unless if I just wake up… _ she thought weakly but irritably. 

 

She still didn’t felt like she was waking up. If anything, it felt like her world was slowly slipping apart from her. Elena was feeling dizzy; everything around her started slowing down. She felt like she was drifting away from just everything. 

 

And then there was nothing.

  
  


~

  
  


_ Urgh… Agh… _ Elena let out a moan as she felt reality coming back to her. She felt worn out. Perhaps it was her sickness that made her felt like so. She forgot for a moment that she was sick. 

 

Her eyes were closed, and she was curled up on her sides yet again. 

 

_ Am I… Back in my room? _ Elena thought.  _ I swear, if I’m not… _

 

She felt the ground. It was concrete hard. The air around her felt brisk and chilly.

 

Almost like Truth’s place.

 

_ No no no… _ Elena thought with worry. Then, she reassured herself,  _ I probably just… Rolled out of my bed! Yeah! That dream was so intense, holy shit! Anyone would’ve rolled out of bed with a dream like that! My room was probably colder than I thought it really was. After all, I was underneath my blanket for practically the whole morning! Lemme just open my eyes. That’ll prove everything! It’s all just a… _

 

She opened her eyes quickly. She was expecting to be back in her comfy room, with her bed and dresser looming above her. She expected to see the lavender colored walls of her room, and the fan on her ceiling. She expected to see her blanket sprawled out on her bed, or even on the floor with her. 

 

But instead, she saw a hollow, grey ceiling above her. The ceiling was obviously worn out and breaking down; there were multiple cracks shaped like lightning that covered the ceiling. There was even a enormous hole on the ceiling, exposing the blue sky above the… Room? House? Building?

 

“W-What?” she exclaimed, her voice taking on a higher pitch. She was devastatingly confused right now. 

 

_ Am I still dreaming!? _ She thought to herself. She continued staring upward with an alarmed expression.

 

To her far right, Elena unexpectedly heard a tiny voice, and the scurrying of someone’s quick footsteps. Within some mere seconds, someone was at her side. She felt the person’s small hands on her shoulder and side. The person gently rolled her over to her flat back. Elena didn’t feel any pain, which relieved her. She also noticed that just like in Truth’s lair, she wasn’t sick. She still has no stuffy nose, sore throat, or pounding migraines. She just felt a little tired.

 

Elena was then face-to-face with another girl. The girl’s eyes were wide and as dark as the night sky. Her face was literally as round as a circle. She was adorned in a blush-colored Eastern-traditional dress. It looked like a Chinese dress, but Elena didn't want to jump on conclusions to that. It could be Japanese, Korean, or even Vietnamese. Though, Elena would've quickly known that it was Vietnamese, since she was Vietnamese herself. Other than that, that’s something Elena has never seen anyone wear in public, ever. 

 

Elena, however, was more distracted from the girl’s hair.

 

_ I’ve never seen so many braids on a person before… _ she thought, staring at her hair.

 

Her jet black hair was done in six braids, three on each side. They formed two buns on the top of her head, which were each secured by some white elastic of sorts, before trailing down her back. Even though they were braided and wounded up in buns, they were still extremely long, dangling only about an inch above the dirty floor. 

 

“Are you ok?” the girl asked. Her voice was unexpectedly squeaky and high pitched, which surprised Elena. Her voice sounded fake, yet at the same didn't. She has heard various of voice tones before, girls especially. She has heard girls with voices as deep as a guy’s voice, but didn't bother to comment on it. However, she has hardly ever heard anyone speak in such a high-pitched voice. She had only heard toddlers speak in such a voice. The girl next to her didn't even look so young. She looked to be around ten or eleven.

 

Elena’s startled expression must’ve been obvious, as the girl apologized, “Did I scare you? I’m so sorry!” She lifted up both of her hands in worry. 

 

_ Wow… I feel bad now…  _ Elena thought to herself sullenly. She was about to assure her that it was fine, until she noticed something about the girl’s movement.

 

The girl seemed quite... animated. More animated than how people’s movements and gestures would be. The way she spoke and lifted her hands seemed more fluid. Not to mention, the girl… Not just the girl,  _ everything _ seemed more vibrant and bright. Even the dark, broken-down place they were in seemed to have more of a brighter color. 

 

_ What a weird dream… _ Elena thought, squinting her eyes.

 

She glanced back at the girl. She had the same apologetic anime-like face any other anime girl would have. 

 

Elena answered, “Yeah… I think I’m alright.” 

 

Elena then slowly sat up to prove her answer. She felt her side ache a little, but that was probably from laying on that same position on a hard ground. Other than that, she felt fine. She would be able to walk without any issues.

 

There was a brief moment of silence as Elena repositioned herself. Then, the girl next to her asked, “So who are you?”

 

Elena looked at the girl. 

 

_ Should I tell her my real name?  _ she thought, weariness growing in her. 

 

The girl had a small, innocent smile on her face; the innocence of a child who hasn’t seen the nastiest and worst of the world yet. She was, after all, none other than a kid. What harm would she do to her?

 

_ I might as well…  _ Elena thought,  _ After all, it's still a dream. It won't hurt to tell her my name.  _

 

“My name? It’s Elena,” she said with a faint smile. 

 

“Elena?” the girl repeated rather thoughtfully. After a couple seconds, she beamed, her eyes shut and her mouth in a wide grin, “It’s nice to meet you!”

 

Elena looked at the girl, mildly amused.

 

_ She looks like one of those anime girls, with their eyes closed and a big smile,  _ she thought.  _ It doesn't look weird on her, like how it would look for other people. _

 

“My name is May Chang!” the girl introduced herself with a small bow. Elena slightly blushed. She wasn’t expecting her to suddenly bow at her like that. No one has ever bowed at her like that. She had never even met anyone who has bowed at others when introducing themselves.

 

“And this is my friend, Xiao Mei!” May continued, gesturing to her shoulder.

 

“Huh?” Elena was looking around. She didn't see anyone else but her. Although… There was some other guy in the corner. The person was a short, old man, garbed in some traveling clothes that ended up looking like worn out rags. 

 

Elena then realized something.

 

_ Oh no… _ she thought. She used one hand to touch her face. She felt her cheeks and nose. But she also felt her eyes.

 

She didn't have her glasses on. 

 

_ Well, shit. Not only am I in a super long dream in an unknown place, but I don't have my glasses. Great. _ She thought. 

 

Her vision wasn't the best, as she wasn't able to see things, people, and places that were at a relatively far distance. She could never go out without her contacts or glasses. She always needed one of the two. The guy she was looking at seemed quite blurred to her. She couldn't properly see his face at the distance. All she saw was a mixture of white, brown, and black.

 

The guy had noticed Elena staring at him intensely. He gave her what she assumed a nasty look. “Hm? What do you want?” 

 

_ His voice sounds familiar…  _ Elena thought, squinting her eyes. 

 

She looked at May. Jabbing a thumb at his direction, she asked, “That’s… Your friend?”

 

May vigorously shook her head. “No, no! That's Master Yoki, actually!”

 

_ Yoki…  _ Elena thought.  _ That name sounds so familiar… Who was he again? _

 

“This is Xiao Mei!” May pointed at her shoulder. 

 

Elena glanced at May’s shoulder, skeptical of what she was trying to show from her shoulder. She then noticed the minuscule animal perched on the shoulder.

 

_ Is that… A hamster? Sitting still on her shoulder? _ Elena was in shock. The animal stared back at her with its - Hers? His? - dark eyes. 

 

_ No way! My own hamster, Taro, could never stay in one place in even in his own his own cage! How even- _

 

Elena then noticed the animal’s tiny black ears and the black-and-white body. Not to mention, it had a head, rather than one body like a hamster. 

 

_ No way…  _ Elena thought in disbelief. She leaned back a bit.  _ I can't be seeing things…. Is that…? _

 

“Xiao-Mei is a panda!” May declared, “I don’t know why a lot of people in this country thinks she’s some cat…”

 

_ A panda? _ Elena deadpanned, tuning out May after her first sentence.  _ Isn’t that illegal, to have a- Oh, whatever. I’m not going to even question it. This dream is getting weirder and weirder by the minute now.  _

 

Elena’s stomach unexpectedly growled. It howled in a rather barbaric way. She literally felt her stomach vibrate as it howled for food.

 

“Oh, damn…” she whispered to herself, placing a hand on her stomach. She felt it giving off one last light rumble underneath her palm.

 

_ Since when was it possible to be  _ this  _ hungry in a dream? _ Elena thought.

 

May had heard the clear growls of the stomach, as she looked at Elena with a concerned expression, especially for a kid. It almost didn’t suit her. Almost.

 

“Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?” she asked.

 

_ Well… Didn’t you just heard my stomach growl? It sounded like a horde of wolves… _ Elena thought. Though, she couldn’t say that to May. At least not yet. She was just a kid.

 

“Yeah, I guess I am,” Elena answered with a light, shy giggle.

 

“Okay…” May replied. She then stood up and, in the loudest voice she could, shouted, “Master Yooooki! We need food!”

 

Elena could’ve sworn her ears were about to bleed from that high-pitched, deafening voice of the tiny girl. Her voice really made up for her height. Xiao-Mei, however, seemed unfazed despite being right next to May’s mouth. 

 

_ Damn… Is that panda actually used to that?  _ Elena looked at the panda with an aghast expression.  _ Is she usually this loud and hyper? I can only imagine… _

 

“You want  _ more  _ food?” Elena heard “Master” Yoki whined. “You already ate through  _ three  _ of my canned food!”

 

“No! She needs food!” May chirped like a bird, probing at Elena’s head with her pointy finger.

 

Yoki grunted. He placed a leather pouch on the ground. It looked quite full, which made Elena wonder why he was being so overdramatic about the food. He shoved a hand in it, relinquishing a canned good. Yoki then rolled it towards Elena.

 

He rolled the can in a remarkable speed, that Elena wasn’t fast enough to stop it. Instead, it bumped her knee harshly.

 

“Ow!” Elena cried out, holding the knee in an attempt to soothe the throbbing pain. “Hey, you could’ve warned me about that!”

 

“Well, you should’ve seen it coming!” Yoki snapped back. He then turned his back towards the girl, grumbling about something else that was deaf to Elena’s ears.

 

Elena decided that she didn’t like this Yoki person. After glaring at the man’s back for a couple quick seconds, she gathered the can with one hand. It was quite heavy, heavier than she expected it to be.  She looked at the can. It had a cylinder-like shape, like many standard canned goods. It was wrapped in a paper with warm colors such as yellow and orange. 

 

“Lemme help you with that!” May offered. Before Elena could decline, she scooped up the can from her. She took out a knife and started poking at the can lid with it.

 

_ Wait a second… Is that a kunai? _ Elena stared at the knife with wide eyes. She felt chills at her spine, horrified of the fact that this girl had practically carried a weapon with her. It was unsettling. 

 

With a little hum, May successfully opened the can with her trust kunai. She handed the can to Elena with that “anime-beaming face” of hers. “Here you go!”

 

The can had distracted Elena from the kunai. She took the can and thanked the girl.

 

There were peaches in it.

 

_ Nice. _ Elena thought. She suddenly started eating them out like a pig, shoving down handful of peaches in her mouth. She didn’t realized how hungry she was until now. She may have looked gross and unmannered towards her new company, but she did not care the slightest bit. She was hungry. 

 

“So… So good…” Elena said in between bites. She didn’t realize Yoki staring at her with a totally nauseated expression, or May slightly giggling at her.

 

However, a sudden, deep voice calling out Yoki’s name had momentarily distracted her from her mini meal. She looked up to see who this new person was, peach juice dripping from her chin down to the can and her hands. She nearly choked on her mouthful of peaches upon seeing who the person was.

 

The new person was a man with brown skin and muscular arms and body. One of them had a lengthy black tattoo on it. Although, that did not surprise Elena.

 

What surprised her was the other features this man bore. Despite not having her glasses on, his features were as clear as water.

 

Hair as white as snow. Eyes as red as blood. And a large scar that formed an X on his larger, sturdy forehead.

 

It was none other than Scar from Fullmetal Alchemist.

 

**The ending may have seemed a bit rushed. I’m sorry about that. :c**

 

**This had actually ended up being a lot longer than I anticipated it to be ._.  Lemme know what you guys think of it so far tho!**

 

**Anyways, lmao I’ve** **_adored_ ** **the trio of May/Scar/Yoki in season 2. They’ve made such a great team. I’m actually surprised that hardly anyone who wrote an OC story had started with the OC being with these peeps lmao. I wish I saw more of it.**

 

**If you’ve read all of this, then thank you so much for bearing through it! I hope you liked it! Lemme know what y’all think of it!**


	2. Beginnings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I can’t believe I’ve managed to make just a couple minutes of something turn into over 6,000 words in a chapter… o.o; Well technically, there are some different things sprinkled in here and there, regarding Elena. But still… How even? Welp, I’m glad that I didn’t go overboard with the chapter this time at least haha
> 
> Anyways, enough from moi! Here's the second chapter!

If there was one word she would describe the sudden events she was witnessing, it would be anomalous. 

  


Firstly, Elena meets Truth. The creature, God, or whatever he was, had done nothing but belittle the world that Elena lived in. He approached her with the issue as if the people were practically Elena’s people. Well… They were all humans like Elena. Yet, Truth had treated it as if Elena was in charge of her humans; laying out all the problems to her, highly suggesting that they were by all means unintelligent. Only because the people on Earth didn’t practice the concepts of alchemy. 

  


It was absurd; Elena wasn't even familiar with alchemy, so why would Truth suddenly outpour his views on a girl who just wanted to get better from her sickness? Why would Elena care? Her world was fairing off well without alchemy. In fact, technology was what made her world advanced. Was it her being ignorant about it, or Truth?

  


Besides that, Truth’s voice sounded like a large population screaming down at her. The creature would mumble just a few words, and it’d all sound like hell to Elena’s ears. 

  


Then, without any kind of choice from her, Truth dumped Elena into the Gate of Truth. Elena would never forget the multitude of hands clinging onto her as she was dragged into nothing but darkness. It was haunting, it was dark, it was eerie, and it was frightening. 

  


But it could've been so much worse. 

  


Truth had spared Elena from the agony and pain that other alchemists were inflicted with. Luckily, she wasn’t an alchemist. But unluckily, she was still forced to go through the Gate of Truth, as a soul for the unknown summoner.

  


Then, she woke up to a girl who screams foreign tourist. Everything about her was different, especially for the North American standards; from her blush-colored Eastern dress, to her jet-black hair, to even her pet panda, of all animals.

  


She was nice, though. Pleasant and enjoyable, even. Her voice was out of norm and high-pitched. But that characteristic didn't hinder her amicable personality in the slightly bit. 

  


Her actions was quite… Fluid, at the very least. It was so fluid and vibrant to the point where it literally looked animated. 

  


As animated as an anime. 

  


It wasn't long enough until a new person came into play. 

  


“Yoki,” the new person, a male, had called out. His distinct features - scarlet eyes, brown skin, and snow-white hair - made him easy to recognize. 

  


Scar from Fullmetal Alchemist.

  


_ What the hell is going on? _ Elena pondered as she gaped at the new visitor, mouth full of peaches and dripping with peach juice. She probably looked like a low-life, unmannered peasant. But she could care less; she was more engrossed in Scar. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was even a bit anxious as well. Just a bit. She knows what he’s capable of. She remembered those episodes where he brutally beaten up and even  _ murdered  _ people. 

  


She especially remembered how he slaughtered Basque Gran; one second, his giant hand was engulfing his face. Within the next second, red sparks sprawled out from his hands into multitudes of directions. The back of the Iron Alchemist’s head had practically exploded, scarlet red blood gushing out all over the area. Some had even managed to trickle out from the alchemist’s eyes, pouring right into the same hand Scar used to kill him.

  


Scar was literally a cold-hearted murderer with bloodstained hands.

  


Elena then noticed how dark the place she was in was. Scar stood by the doorway, blocking the bright sunlight outside. The place really could’ve used some sunlight. Elena was pretty sure that if she stepped outside, she would be instantly blinded by the sunlight. It would be similar to waking up in a hotel room with those giant curtains blocking an equally giant window. Waking up in total darkness at first, and then suddenly blinded by the sunlight as someone pulls the curtains.

  


Elena looked skyward at the crumbling ceiling. It was dull and old; many parts of it were cracking or peeling off. Beads of sunlight leaked through the various tiny openings. It still wasn’t sufficient for the dim house. 

  


_ I hope to the lord that nothing comes crashing down our heads… _ Elena hoped. She was already in a tight situation. There wasn’t any need to worsen it. 

  


_ I also hope he doesn't kill little innocent girls… _ Elena mused. She took one more good look at the tan man. 

  


_ Wait a second… What is he wearing? _ She realized Scar’s different outfit.

  


She remembered his outfit in Fullmetal Alchemist. He had some kind of jacket that was a couple shades lighter than his skin tone; it was almost like a goldish tan. Underneath his coat was a dull white shirt, all worn out. His legs were garbed in sweatpants that are similar to those Adidas sweatpants Elena thought were overrated; black with white stripes at the side. Scar’s black sweatpants, however, had some white cross on each side instead of stripes. He had also worn shades to mask his obviously red eyes. 

  


But what Scar is wearing isn’t exactly alike to what Elena was used to.

  


Now, he wasn’t wearing his coat, nor was he wearing his shades. Instead, a thin cloak the color of moss was draped over his worn-out shirt. Even with the cloak on, Elena was able to clearly see the details of his toned arms. His arms looked a lot more massive and bulky than she remembered. They were  _ big. _ Elena remembered his arms being quite scrawny. Heck, she remembered his whole  _ figure  _ being scrawny.

  


_ Why is he so buff? He makes the actual Scar look like a angsty poetry writer… _ Elena questioned uncomfortably. 

  


A thought then occurred to her. 

  


_ Wait… The actual Scar?  _ Elena looked at him again. She quickly shoved a peach in her mouth to conceal her scrutiny and shock. She placed one palm over her mouth for extra measures, pretending that she was wiping her mouth.

  


_ Oh my god… _ Elena stopped chewing for a few seconds.  _ This is Scar from that other FMA anime… Brotherhood, right?  _

  


She took one last glance at him. She clearly remembered seeing pictures of him online one afternoon. She was searching up more about the Ishvalan one day after watching a couple episodes of the Fullmetal Alchemist series. That, and she was bored. While searching through pictures, she saw varying pictures of Scar - some from the 2003 Fullmetal Alchemist series, and others from Brotherhood. The differences were crystal-clear once Elena compared a picture of the Scar from the older series to one of Scar from Brotherhood next to it. The Brotherhood Scar had worn, and looked, exactly like the man in front of her: a green cloak with a bulkier build. 

  


_ Oh man, it  _ is! Elena confirmed. She wasn’t even finished with the first Fullmetal Alchemist series. She hardly knew information about Brotherhood, other than some tidbits from Mack. And now, here she was; eye to eye to the Scar she was even less knowledgeable of than the Scar from the series she was trying to finish.

  


Elena glanced at May. The other girl, like Elena, was also highly intrigued in Scar. She looked fascinated, and even unwary about Scar, as if she never heard of him at all. She was kneeling down next to Elena, practically resembling a pupil kneeling down. 

  


_ So first Truth, and now Scar…  _ Elena continued to muse.  _ Both of them are characters from Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood… I wonder if she’s from Brotherhood as well.  _

  


She took a quick glimpse at “Master” Yoki. He was gaping at Scar with a frightened expression. Elena stifled a giggle; he looked pathetically funny with that face. 

  


Yoki also looked at him with a huge sense of familiarity. Was he close to Scar? How much did they knew each other? From the way it seems, they don't have much of a amiable bond. If anything, it seemed unhealthy and hostile. Why would they be together then?

  


Despite all of that, he still seems highly familiar. He even sounds familiar.

  


_ He could've also been from Fullmetal Alchemist. Either the first or Brotherhood…  _ Elena thought.  _ So… I'm dreaming about being in Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood?  _

  


She instantly regretted not taking up Mack’s insane galore and knowledge about Brotherhood. He was extremely dedicated to the series in a way. But he had a lack of control whenever he babbled about it. He almost even spoiled Elena a couple times in the past. Ever since then, Elena only allowed Mack to tell her some minor details, or something interesting and spoiler-free. It actually worked out well when he did just that. But would any of those facts help her out?

  


Elena suddenly felt Scar’s gaze on her. His eyes, an angry shade of red, lingered on her and May. His gaze was quite powerful; Elena felt like he was piecing into her very soul. His face was set in his neutral expression: a muted scowl. She could easily tell that he was confused, perhaps even displeased. Though Elena didn't blame him; she’d also be skeptical as to why there were suddenly two girls in her house. 

  


Still staring down at the two girls, Scar finally spoke up, his voice sounding hushed and solemn, “What’s going on? Who are they?” His hands were balled up in fists. Elena could see his chest rising up and sinking down from his breathing.

  


To her left, Yoki walked up to the Ishvalan, one hand in another. Even though Scar wasn’t looking at him, Yoki knew that he was seeking answers from him specifically. His back was hunched, and his cowardness quickly diminished into enthusiasm. He looked like he was trying to appeal a customer.

  


“Oh, sir, you returned! Welcome back!” Yoki greeted, as if he was  _ actually  _ glad to see the naturally glowering man.

  


That wasn’t the answer Scar was looking for. In a more emphasized tone, he repeated his command, “I said,  _ who are these girls _ ?”

  


Yoki suddenly flinched harshly. He was acting as if a strong wind suddenly blew him. Elena nearly snorted. Sure, she was also anxious of Scar. After all, he was practically a murderer. She didn’t know if he would hurt her or May, or even the panda - the panda didn't deserve to die! Yet, it wasn’t like Scar had yelled at him. But she shouldn’t be saying something like that. She didn’t know why Yoki was with Scar. Perhaps he’s a hostage?

  


_ But he was alone in this place before Scar came…  _ Elena thought.  _ I'm pretty sure that he would've fled. And I'm even more sure that Scar would've never left him alone like that. Silly you. _

  


Out of the corner of her eye, Elena saw May shift her kneeling position, facing the man. With that cheerful smile of her’s, she spoke up, “Pleased to meet you! My name is May Chang, sir!” She bowed her head at her introduction, and grinned even wider. 

  


So far, there was just no end to the girl’s happiness and smiles.

  


Elena could’ve sworn that even the tiny panda on her shoulder was beaming just like her. That panda was mimicking every expression of May, like a parrot copying every word of someone.

  


_ I have to admit… That is pretty cute…  _ Elena thought.  _ The panda makes it so cute! If only my hamster could do stuff like that...  _

  


She imagined her tiny hamster on her shoulder, mimicking Elena’s expressions. 

  


_ How cute would that be?  _ she thought dreamily. 

  


Scar let out a grunt of… Approval? Understanding? It sounded just as gruff as his voice. It was hard to Elena to decipher what was going on in that skull of his. 

  


Elena then reached her hand in her can of peaches. There was just one more slice in there. But her hand couldn't find it. 

  


_ I know it's somewhere in there..  _ She thought, fumbling through the can. She felt the sturdy tin of the can, but no fruit. She scanned the dark, dusty floor around her. There was some residue from the ceiling above them. But there was no peach.

  


Then, she felt the soft, juicy texture of a peach. The slice felt minuscule, compared to the other thicker slices she ate. But she was fine with it; food was food, after all. 

  


_ There it is… _ she grinned triumphantly as she dished out the final orangey slice. She stuffed it in her mouth. 

  


She suddenly felt a sharp pang of pain and pressure on her finger. 

  


“Ow!” Elena winced. She yanked her finger out of her mouth. She scrutinized it, hoping that it wasn't bleeding. To her relief, her slender finger just had a few bite marks. Although it stung with pain, and it was slightly red, no blood was gushing out of the finger.

  


_ How did I manage to do that?  _ Elena pondered to herself. Still, it wasn't her first time that she bit her finger while hungrily scarfing down food, so she wasn't entirely surprised. Not to mention, she even bit down so hard, to the point where her finger would bleed. 

  


She shrugged to herself, and munched on her final piece of peach. The juice in it tasted sweet, refreshing, and satisfying. She felt more rejuvenated and awake. But not awake enough to escape from her dream. 

  


_ Would I rather be confined in bed with a nasty cold, or stay stuck in a dream of an anime I’ve never watched?  _ Elena questioned herself. 

  


She glanced back at the can. 

  


_ Why are they so good?  _ She thought. She was highly disappointed that they was done. But she couldn't pinpoint why.

  


_ I'd never think about a simple can of peaches like that…  _ Elena looked at the can.  _ I've never eaten canned peaches before! _

  


She suddenly realized her peculiar behavior with the food. It was just a can of peaches. She felt silly but weird. What was going on?

  


“ _ A-hem! _ ” Someone cleared his throat quite loudly. The voice was deep and, again, gruff. Elena looked up to see who did that. 

  


It was none other than Scar that cleared his throat. His raging-red eyes were scrutinizing not May, not Yoki, but Elena. No one else or less. He still had that same unselfconscious scowl. He stood still and tall, practically looking like a lonely statue. 

  


_ Would that man ever smile?  _ Elena thought. 

  


Scar then spoke up, impatience growing in his tone, “And you?” 

  


_ Alright, Lena, you got this… _ Elena said, bracing herself.

  


Elena looked at Scar, coffee-brown eyes locking into those fierce scarlet eyes. She straightened her posture, quickly swallowed the peach, and swiped an arm across her juicy chin.

  


“H-Hi…” she started off a bit softly. Then, with a deep breath , she continued, “My name is Elena…” she continued with a grin, attempting to sound somewhat casual and a bit reserved. 

  


_ Hopefully he’ll cut his slack off if he thinks I'm more of a reserved person…  _ Elena thought. 

  


“Mmm…” Was all Scar replied. It sounded emotionless. 

  


_ Not much for words, isn’t he? _ Elena thought, raising an eyebrow. 

  


An uncomfortable, awkward silence hung in the air. Yoki was looking at the Ishvalan, then at the girls, and then back at the Ishvalan. Scar kept a sturdy gaze upon the girls. May stared back at the looming man with that unfaltering grin. It looked like some staring contest. 

  


The silence was too uncomfortable. Too awkward. It was to the point where Elena felt somewhat cold. She felt herself tremble a bit. 

  


_ Well.... Shouldn’t we ask for his name? _ Elena asked herself. Even though she knew what he would say, it would help clear any suspicion. May didn’t seem to mind him not returning the favor of saying his name. It didn’t seem like she knew him, either. 

  


_ Welp. I might as well ask then…  _ Elena eventually decided after a couple seconds. It didn't seem like May would've asked. Nor would Yoki fill her in about him. 

  


Elena took in a quick breath, and looked at Scar. “So, um… What’s your name, then?” 

  


Elena noticed that weird look Yoki was giving, staring right at the Ishvalan. 

  


_ Oh, I just realized…  _ Elena thought, suddenly panicking.  _ Doesn't everyone in Amestris knows about Scar? The way he looks? Red eyes and white hair, like any other Ishvalan.  _

  


Scar answered, his voice lacking any emotion, “I don't have a name. I abandoned it the moment I decided to leave my country and fulfill my mission to God.”

  


Elena was somewhat expecting him to answer like that. She scrunched her face up at the last comment. She knew what his “mission to God” was: to eliminate alchemists. Especially the ones that contributed to the bloody Ishvalan War. Heck, it wasn't even a war; it was a bloody genocide. 

  


_ To be honest, I really do pity him…  _ Elena though, looking down at her can.  _ But is it really necessary to kill  _ all  _ the alchemists? Also… _

  


Her face scrunched up yet again. 

  


_ That’s not fair. He expected us to tell him our names, yet he doesn’t tell us his? Wow, how  _ trusting _ of him. I’m glad I know him… In a way, at least. _

  


Casting aside her jumbled thoughts, she glanced at Yoki, expecting him to feed her with more knowledge. She gave him a expression that screamed, “Enlighten me, s’il vous plait.” 

  


Yoki looked up at Scar, as if he was waiting for some kind of approval. Scar’s face remained unchanged; it was as stony as ever. 

  


_ That man is so unreadable… _ Elena thought, squinting at nowhere in particular. She just hoped the Ishvalan in front of her wouldn’t see it.  _ I wonder how Yoki pulls up with him. Maybe I’ll ask him why he’s here later on…  _

  


Elena then gulped.  _ If there  _ is  _ a later on, that is. _

  


Yoki turned back to Elena. He cleared his throat. “The people here often refer to him as ‘Scar.’ The X-shaped scar on his face was used as inspiration of sorts for his code name. Ever since then-”

  


Elena had mentally cutted him off after the second sentence. She just couldn't stand the way he was explaining Scar.

  


_ He sounds so snobbish, like he knows everything about him…  _ Elena thought. 

  


It was true; Yoki was speaking in such a haughty manner. It felt like he was purposely trying to condense Elena with his “profound” knowledge of Scar. Elena’s automatic dislike for him came back.

  


_ I wish Mack was here…  _ Elena thought sullenly. She knew for sure that he would deliver a far better explanation than Yoki was. 

  


Yoki continued babbling on, until Scar interrupted, “That’s enough, Yoki.” His voice sounded mildly annoyed.

  


_ Even he's sick of it…  _ Elena struggled to hold her giggle, something she has never done yet in this place.

  


Yoki once again winced dramatically at Scar’s low yet powerful voice. There was something about the way Scar spoke. His voice was barely above the volume of a rushed mutter. Yet, he managed to sound commanding, powerful, and even a bit frightening with that voice. His natural demeanor and aura was just as powerful as his voice; inanimate yet dominate. 

  


Elena mused,  _ No wonder he was able to get through this place on his own. _

  


Scar then shifted his attention back to Elena and May. “... Why are you two here?”

  


_ Yikes…  _ Elena thought, gulping.  _ I was hoping he won't answer that. I don’t even know how I got in this house. I just woke up. What am I supposed to say? “Oh, I just woke up in this nice place with a urgent… Urge to eat”? _

  


Elena looked at May, swirling the now-empty in her right hand. The raven-haired girl has been quiet for a good time. 

  


Still maintaining that eager smile, May simply explained, “Well, we had collapsed at the side of the road. Your  _ master _ ,”  she glanced up at Yoki, “Mr. Yoki, revived us and brought us back here!”

  


She ended her explanation with a cheerful, chirpy-like tone. 

  


_ Wait…  _ Elena perked up at “we had collapsed at the side of the road.” 

  


_ Was I unconscious at the time?  _ She asked herself.  _ Or was I awake, but didn't remember? Maybe I passed out while walking with her at the road?  _

  


She looked at May.

  


_ I’ll ask about that later on…  _ she decided. She was worried that asking now would be a wrong time, and could cause some suspicion. 

  


She glanced up at Yoki. Yoki was looking at the girl with an expression that basically read, “What the hell?” 

  


_ Same, Yoki… _ Elena thought, casting her dislike of him for a solid second. The title didn’t even fit him well; he didn’t seem worthy enough for such a label.

  


“Master?” Scar repeated, pronouncing it as if he was feeling the word. Even  _ he _ was lost at the sudden title given to the older man, of all people. He glimpsed at Yoki, who had only gawked at May even more. It looked like Yoki was avoiding eye contact with Scar for a brief second. It also looked like Scar was thinking the same thing: Yoki didn't deserve the label “master.”

  


Elena giggled. 

  


_ Oh man! He looks so jealous!  _ She mused in between her giggles.  _ What, does he want to be called “Master” by her? _

  


Luckily, Scar didn’t hear her giggles. Either he did heard her, but ignored it, or was staring at Yoki so much to the point where all of his attention was reserved to that man.

  


Scar then grunted yet again. Turning to his left, he started trudging into the small house. May and Elena scooted back a bit, giving him room to enter. Scar then turned to his left, finally looking away from Elena. Elena felt like a huge weight was lifted away from her as his gaze broke away from her. She felt like she could breathe properly.

  


“You two have seemed to recover…” he spoke while walking, still not looking at the girls. His tone was as emotionless as ever.  “There’s no need for you two to stay. Be on your way at once.”

  


“ _ What? _ ” Elena thought out loud. However, it came out as a soft mumble. Only she had heard herself exclaim that. 

  


_ How could you just kick out two girls like that? _ She thought, frowning.  _ Cut us some slack, man.  _

  


She looked at May. Even she was unhappy of what Scar had told them. Her face was a mixture of confusion and disappointment.

  


So there was an end to her grins.

  


Elena turned back to Scar. She noticed something… Off about him. The way he was walking. It looked like he was struggling to walk. It looked like he was limping.

  


_ Is he hurt?  _ Elena thought.

  


Elena then noticed something on his right leg. The upper side of his pants had a huge tear. The edges were soaked with something scarlet. 

  


_ Is that blood?  _ Elena questioned.

  


She then noticed a huge cut that was exposed on his leg. Fresh blood was leaking out from the thick cut.

  


Behind her, May softly gasped. She must’ve noticed that cut as well. Elena then heard her body shuffle a bit. She looked behind her.

  


May was now standing up with a worried expression. It was the same expression Elena woke up to herself. With a hint of determination, she dashed towards the injured Ishvalan.

  


Elena turned back to Scar. He slowly sank down against the floor, letting out a hushed grunt of pain in the process. He leaned against the wall. His injured leg was sprawled out on the floor, while his other leg neatly laid flat. He grimaced yet again, his stony face diminishing into a pained expression.

  


_ Whoa… _ Elena thought.  _ I'd never thought I'd see him like this. Ever. _

  


Ever since watching the show, Scar had always appeared to Elena as someone expressionless and cold. His aura was always intimidating, and he was always on guard. He was strong, no doubt about it. He had no mercy, took no nonsense from others, and done things without hesitation for the most part. Even in her dream, his character was a reflection of himself in the show. He was a killer, and his demeanor simply stated the truth of his character.

  


What Elena now saw was the total opposite of what she was accustomed to from Scar. 

  


Scar now appeared weak. That was something Elena would have never imagined from him. But here he was now, wincing in pain, bleeding from a cut, and hardly able to move around. He was vulnerable at this stage. His head was bowed down, as if he was ashamed to appear at such a state, especially next to two girls. 

  


May was now standing next to the wounded man.

  


Scar looked down at the girl. Elena could’ve sworn that Scar looked shocked and even startled for a brief second before he gruffly asked May, “What, girl?”

  


May immediately dipped down to the floor, returning back to her kneeling position.

  


“Allow me to close your wound,” she told the Ishvalan gently, as if she was a nurse comforting a hysteric patient.

  


_ Wait… How? _ Elena asked herself, staring questioningly at the girl. She didn’t seem to have any kind of medical kit around. How was she going to tend to the cut?

  


Elena was only able to see the girl’s back. She saw May shifting around a bit, moving her arms a little bit here and there. Letting her curiosity get to her, Elena stood up. She walked up to the girl and the man. Peering right behind May’s shoulder, with Xiao Mei on it, she saw her rapidly sketching a star inside a circle with white chalk. 

  


Elena squinted.  _ Is this alchemy? _

  


May then balled up one of her tiny hands into a fist. Within a couple seconds, five of those same kunais she used to open up Elena’s canned peaches appeared, coming out from her poofy dress sleeve.

  


_ Holy shit… _ Elena thought, once again feeling unsettled of the kunais.  _ I thought she was dangerous enough with  _ one _ kunai. But  _ five _? I guess I have to start carrying knives around. _

  


May gathered all of the kunais in a reachable center for her. She then grasped one of the unique knives and jabbed it by one of the corners of the star. She repeated the method with each of the four kunais left. After using the last one, May backed away a bit with a hum. All five of the kunais were each stabbed by one of the corners of the single star.

  


Elena heard someone gasp behind her. She turned around and saw Yoki staring at May’s work with a… Startled expression? Confused? Perhaps a mixture of both. 

  


Scar squinted his eyes at the star. He looked skeptical of it. Even a bit suspicious. 

  


After observing the drawings and kunais for a couple seconds, May confidently placed two hands on top of the star. 

  


_ That’s similar to how Ed and Al does alchemy… _ Elena realized.

  


The circle and star glowed in a icy blue shade. Immediately, a frenzy of blue lightning emerged from the glowing transmutation circle. The lightnings sprawled out in multitudes of directions, but nowhere near any of the four. It illuminated the dark house with some light. 

  


Elena flinched, not expecting the circle to give off such an reaction. She then felt a sudden jolt of warmness and energy from the circle. Something about the transmutation circle depicted a surge of positive energy to Elena. It made her feel refreshed and renewed. The circle gave out such a great sensation. It was totally different from what she was expecting; those frantic blue lightning would have cause total devastation. But it was quite the contrary from what Elena felt; she felt safe and energized next to the active circle. 

  


_ Is this how it feel likes to be next to an active transmutation circle?  _ Elena thought. The impact from the array made her hair flutter back, like a soft wind tickling her very presence. She closed her eyes a bit, taking in the relaxing flow of the circle.

  


Elena’s eyes then fluttered back up, upon feeling someone staring at her. She automatically turned around and saw Yoki giving her another one of those strange looks he gave earlier on. His eyebrows were furrowed, and his eyes were squinted in a odd matter. His lips curled up in a frown. 

  


_ Gosh. What's his problem?  _ Elena thought, frowning back at him for a split second before looking back at the spectacle before her.

  


The blue lightning eventually died down. The room became dim and dark again. All of that warmth Elena felt was now gone. 

  


Elena heard Yoki and even Scar gasp. They were both staring at Scar’s leg with an astonished expression. 

  


_ What happened? _ Elena thought, stretching forward to see the commotion. She then remembered: 

  


_ Oh right! His cut! _ Elena joined them in looking at the leg. She then gasped herself.

  


The cut was all sealed up! Sure, there was still some leftover blood. But the cut was gone, as if it never existed. Scar’s leg looked much better, despite the leftover blood. 

  


_ Amazing… _ Elena mused, highly impressed.  _ I didn’t know there was such thing as alchemy that could  _ heal.

  


“It’s healed!” Yoki exclaimed.

  


_ You don’t say… _ Elena thought, mentally rolling her eyes. 

  


Instead of replying to Yoki, Elena asked May, “Is that alchemy? I’ve never heard of anything that could heal…”

  


May turned around and chirped, “No. It’s a skill called alkahestry from the land of Xing!” She beamed at Elena.

  


_ … Xing? _ Elena mused over that word.  _ And… Alkahestry? They both sound so familiar… _

  


Suddenly, she remembered. She remembered hearing something about Xing and alkahestry from Mack. 

  


_ Wait… Isn't alkahestry basically eastern alchemy?  _ Elena thought, placing a finger on her chin thoughtfully.  _ And Xing… _

  


She looked at May. 

  


Her hairstyle. Her panda. Her kunais. And most importantly, her dress. 

  


_ It all makes sense…  _ Elena thought, connecting everything at once.  _ Xing is basically the equivalent of China in the Brotherhood world...  _ Elena shuddered.  _ I hope I'm not making some racist assumption at this. _

  


Scar looked up at Yoki. He asked in a surprisingly soft tone, “They’re from Xing?”

  


In an equally soft tone, if not softer, Yoki answered, “That’s right…” as if he just realized. He then quickly added, “Well, I don't know about her though,” pointing at Elena.

  


_ Oh no!  _ Elena thought, panicking instead of getting irritated.  _ How am I supposed to explain to them where I came from!? How would they react if I said I was from America? I mean, I could just say that the country is extremely foreign and far from here. But what if they ask for some kind of story or reasoning of why I'm here? _

  


“The point is…” Yoki continued loudly, not letting Elena say anything, to her relief. He pointed down at May. “This girl! Crossed the desert! From the east! By herself! To get here!” With each shorten sentence, he jabbed his pointed finger downwards above May’s head. His arm was at a ninety degree angle. To Elena, it looked hilariously painful. In general, Yoki looked pathetically funny. 

  


Yoki crossed his arms and stood straightly. He looked down at the girl smugly and added, “How stupid could that be? It’s clearly ridiculous.” 

  


Elena saw the spark that rippled in May’s dark eyes. May stood up. Defiantly looking back at Yoki, she retaliated, “I did  _ not  _ travel here alone! I was with my friend, Xiao Mei!” 

  


The tiny panda on her shoulder, that did nothing but subtly mimic May’s movements, raised one black paw and mewled in response. 

  


Elena heard Scar grunt. Compared to the numerous of times he grunted, this one was much softer. It was audible, but barely. 

  


Elena looked at Scar. He was now staring at the tiny panda with wide ruby-red eyes. 

  


Elena looked at the man questioningly. 

  


_ This anime, man…  _ Elena thought to herself.  _ What's going on? _

  


She suddenly felt a brief spark of pain in her forehead. It came for just a second, and then went away. Despite that, the pain was harsh. Thankfully, not hard enough to make her scream in agony. 

  


“Gah!” Elena groaned with clenched teeth. She held a light palm on her forehead. 

  


_ What was that?  _ she thought worriedly. She gently rubbed her fingers on her forehead.  _ Is that from waking up, maybe? _

  


She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. After opening her eyes, she slowly removed her hand from her forehead. It was no longer aching. 

  


May and Yoki were loudly bickering. Elena, however, was much more fixated on Scar. Scar was staring at Xiao Mei. May’s back was facing the man, so neither the girl nor the panda knew that he was staring at her. The way he looked at her was obviously full of surprise and even a bit mesmerized. He then started to reach one of his hand out towards the panda. 

  


_ Oh, no no no…  _ Elena instantly recognized the pose of his hands. It was extremely similar to how he kills State Alchemists. One hand was slightly opened, opening more little by little the closer it got to the target. 

  


_ Is he… Going to kill the panda!? Oh my god! May, please please  _ please _ turn back!  _ Elena looked at May pleadingly, hoping to get her attention. She literally felt her heart hammer against her chest. 

  


Luckily, May turned back, looking at Scar with a hint of curiosity. To Elena’s relief, Scar had stopped reaching towards the panda. His whole arm hung in the air, exposing his muscles and the black tattoo. 

  


_ Whoa… _ Elena thought, staring at the tattoos. She was amazed at how detailed and precise the tattoo looked. Sure, it looked detailed in the anime. But looking at the actual tattoo in front of her made her realize how meticulous it was. Lots of lines and different designs overlapped each other. There were even some words on the tattoo, but Elena couldn’t figure them out.

  


May must’ve noticed the tattoo as well. She backed up towards Scar’s arm, her dark eyes not budging away one bit. 

  


“Wait… Your arm..” May mumbled while backing up. She then stopped and scanned it more. “That’s alkahestry, right? The art of reading the Dragon’s Pulse…”

  


_ Dragon Pulse? _ Elena cocked her head a bit. She nearly giggled.  _ Wait, isn’t that a Pokemon move?  _

  


Elena then shook her head a bit.  _ Don’t be silly! It doesn’t have to be just Pokemon! _

  


May continued, “Knowing the power that flows through the ground and how to use it? That tattoo matches the flow of alkahestry used in my homeland!”

  


Elena was totally lost at what May said.

  


Scar then lowered his arm. It was quite dramatic, especially since he lowered it very slowly. He looked at May and gruffly responded, “My brother was a student of alchemy and alkahestry, and conducted a great deal of research to both fields.” He glanced at his tattoo. “The tattoo that I bear was a result of that research…”

  


_ Oh really?  _ Elena blinked. Then, she suddenly questioned, “But… Then why is it on  _ your  _ arm, and not on your brother’s?”

  


Scar immediately looked down at his lap. An abrupt cold expression took over.

  


Elena mentally gulped.  _ Oh crap. I think I went too personal on that… _

  


Scar tersely answered, “I consider that to be personal…” His voice remained stoic, but his downcast eyes were gleaming. They revealed some sort of sadness and grief. Something that’s too close to probe. Something that would distraught him for a while.

  


Elena just simply nodded in understandment. 

  


_ Don’t wanna put him in a even worse mood now…  _ she thought.

  


“Well…” May gleefully exclaimed, clapping her two tiny hands together, “That’s incredible! Your brother must’ve really been something!”

  


Scar continued gazing downwards. He didn’t respond, or even showed any regard of May’s comment. He looked remorseful.

  


_ Something must’ve happened to his brother… _ Elena thought glumly. She suddenly felt bad for the Ishvalan. Even though he’s a mass murderer at this point, he was still human.

  


May and Xiao-Mei both blinked in confusion upon receiving no response from Scar. They stared at him, hoping to get some sort of reply back. 

  


Yoki broke the silence, “I don’t know what you are talking about…”

  


May and Elena both looked at the shorter man.

  


_ Same, Yoki…  _ Elena thought. 

  


Yoki then grinned and shrugged, “But your wounds are healed, sir. We can be on our ways to set out without any further delays!” 

  


May clapped her hands together again, and eagerly replied, “Oh, that sounds great! Let me go get my things!” She dashed to her lavender-colored stash, which was just a few feet away from the trio. 

  


_ She just reminded me of Mabel Pines…  _ Elena thought with an amused grin. 

  


Yoki peered at the girl with a exasperated expression. “What do you think you’re doing, kid? Didn’t he told you two to shove off once you’re healed? We’re not exactly going to Central for a picnic, you know.”

  


May turned back with a determined look. “I know! But I meant what I told you!”

  


Yoki looked down at May with that same smug smile of his. “Oh, you mean that immortality stuff you were spouting about earlier?” Lifting his arms up in another shrug, he stated, “There’s no such thing! Only a fool would believe such nonsense!”

  


May quickly stood up, scooping up her satchel. She nearly startled Elena when she squealed, “Yes there is! And I came to find it!” Xiao-Mei was clenching her sharp teeth at Yoki while May retaliated back.

  


Yoki irritably pointed a scrawny finger at the girl. “Oh, shut up! Kids don’t know anything!”

  


Xiao-Mei then reached over and chomped on the man’s pointed finger.

  


_ Holy crap! _ Elena thought, her eyes widening in shock and amusement. Her mouth was agape in a wide smile, a giggle escaped as she watched Yoki howl in what seemed to be immense pain.  _ He got what we deserved after all! Heh… “Kids don’t know anything…” What does he- _

  


All of a sudden, she felt her heart beat, harshly. It thumped once powerfully. Her chest then ached, and her migraine returned. The migraine felt much worse than before. It felt like her head was on the verge of exploding. 

  


Her vision started to blur. Multiple colors vanished, or appeared fuzzy. Then, a totally new vision took over. 

  


_ “Are you the one…?” A mysterious voice echoed. It sounded like a monotone male’s voice.  _

  


_ Blue alchemy sparks shot up in the darkness. Red alchemy sparks followed, clashing into the blue ones. It eventually ate up the blue sparks, as more and more appeared.  _

  


_ A swish of pale blonde hair.  _

  


_ “You  _ might  _ be a potential one…” the mysterious voice continued.  _

  


_ There were explosions everywhere. Alchemic explosions, sparks continuing to fly all over the place.  _

  


_ Golden eyes took over her vision, piercing through her very soul. Golden eyes so ancient, so wisdomly, so… Lifeless. So empty, so emotionless.  _

  


_ Who knew such a lively color could be so dull and dead? _

  


_ “Come to me…” the voice boomed.  _

  


_ Elena did not like the way he said that. _

  


_ More explosions. Then, there was screaming. It sounded so high-pitched. Someone was in grievous pain.  _

  


_ Another swish of blonde hair. This time, it was darker and healthier-looking.  _

  


_ Then, a pale-white palm took her vision. The hand was opened up, inching closer and closer towards her face  _

  


_ “Share with me your power…” the voice echoed.  _

  


_ The opened hand was getting so close to Elena’s face. She could practically see the lines of the person’s palm. Even more screaming blazed through the area of darkness.  _

  


_ Suddenly, red sparks blew right in front of her face. More screaming. More voices. More explosions.  _

  


_ This was hell.  _

  


_ “... Hey! Elena! Are you okay?” a voice called out.  _

  


Elena felt two hands seize and shake her shoulders. A girl’s voice worriedly begged, “Elena! Please! Are you okay!?” It was May.

  


Elena opened her eyes. Her lungs felt like she was drowning in a pool, causing her to take heavy deep breaths. Her headache felt like it was subsiding, but it was still strong. She placed both hands on her head. 

  


“My… Headache…” Elena groaned. 

  


_ Who was that?  _ Elena questioned.  _ And why again? _

  


May placed a hand on top of Elena’s head. She closed her eyes for a few seconds. “Mmmh…”

  


She then opened her eyes and looked at Elena. “It's probably from waking up all of a sudden. You were passed out for a while when I found you, and you didn't eat for a long period. Wait one second. I'm going to draw up a circle for you.” 

  


May whipped out a chalk and her five kunais. She quickly scribbled a alkahestry transmutation circle, and placed the kunais in their respective places. She then wrapped an arm around Elena’s sides and gently instructed, “Lay down slowly, and place your head right in the middle of the star.” 

  


With May’s help, Elena was able to lay well on her back. Her head was laying right where May needed it to be. It still throbbed harshly.

  


May placed two hands on the circle, right near Elena’s pounding head. The transmutation circle then glowed its normal blue hue.

  


Elena closed her eyes contently. She felt the same relaxing aura that she witnessed from the first alkahestry circle. She allowed herself to take in the calming presence of the active circle. Her headache melted away within each second. 

  


The circle died down after a couple seconds. Elena opened her eyes. She, once again, felt refreshed. Her headache was totally gone. She felt more energized. 

  


She sat up and rubbed her head. 

  


“How do you feel?” May asked. 

  


Elena looked at May sincerely. “I feel a lot better now. Thank you!”

  


Elena then tried to stand up. Surprisingly, she didn't stumble. If anything, she felt even more better standing up. She stretched her arms out, as if she was waking up on a relaxing morning. 

  


_ What was that?  _ Elena thought back to that weird flashback. 

  


Elena heard Yoki hushedly ask Scar, “What was that about?” 

  


Elena turned back to look at the two men. Scar, still perched against the wall, simply shrugged. 

  


Yoki glanced at the girls. With a look of doubt and a bit of disgust, he asked, “So… What do we do with these two?”

  


Scar looked at the two girls. Closing his eyes, he stated, “Suit yourself, girls…” without any traces of malice.

  


Elena gasped. With a playful grin, she asked, “So… You’re fine with us tagging along?”

  


“Suit yourself…” Scar repeated. He then stood up. “However…” He looked directly at the two girls. May turned around to look at him.

  


“You two must keep up with us,” Scar insisted. “Understood?”

  


May nodded eagerly. She then grinned at Elena, obviously glad to travel with some other people. 

  


Elena returned a smile. 

  


_ How long do I have here? Until I wake up?  _ She ominously thought back to that vision she had with her migraine.  _ I don’t know if I want to know what that weird vision was about, though... _

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So I’ve been recently getting into PS4 games. Naughty Dog games in particular. I’ve been playing both of their games. I can’t believe I stumbled on a character that has my OC’s name in their games xD Both of their games actually lol; Ellie from The Last of Us, and Elena Fischer from the Uncharted series. I sincerely love both of these girls from the games.
> 
> Anyone wanna recommend me some PS4 games? :T I’m still playing the two Naughty Dog games but I would still like a stable list.
> 
> Anyways, thank you so much for reading, once again! If you see anything odd, please let me know lol. Chances are I probably was focusing too much on the other factors of the chapter. That, and I wanna improve as a writer!


End file.
